Paralympics Program OK for Tokyo

(ATR) A new president, an update on Russia’s Paralympic participation and reports from the next three Paralympic host cities are on tap this week for the International Paralympic Committee.

Leaders of the Paralympic Movement and International Paralympic Committee gather in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates for the IPC Conference and General Assembly from Sep. 5-8.

The week of important meetings began with the IPC Governing Board session that took place from Sep. 3-4. Here, the 15 members – led by IPC president Philip Craven – finalized the medal program and athlete quotas for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.

The final event program was decided after a 10-month process where each International Federation submitted its proposals. The Tokyo 2020 Paralympics will take place from Aug. 25 to Sept. 6 with athletes competing across 22 sports. Badminton and taekwondo will make their Paralympic debuts at the Tokyo Games.

The Governing Board also heard a report from the independent taskforce monitoring Russia’s doping reformation. The country was suspended ahead of the Rio 2016 Paralympics due to the damning McLaren Report that uncovered state-sponsored doping programs that affected both Olympians and Paralympians in Russia.

The Russian Paralympic Committee recently received a letter of support from 14 countries welcoming its reinstatement, according to Russian news agency TASS. Winter Paralympic hosts South Korea were among the signatories, possibly aiding the country’s case to rejoin the movement ahead of the PyeongChang 2018 Games in February.

The IPC Conference then begins on Sept. 5 with the first day analyzing diversity in the Paralympic Movement, the cost of Paralympic Competition and potential future sports and disciplines to add to the Paralympic Games program.

Progress reports will also be given by hosts of the next three Paralympic Games, with PyeongChang 2018 president Hee Beom Lee, Tokyo 2020 chief executive officer Toshiro Muto and Beijing 2022 vice president Yong Lu.

Attendees of day two of the conference will hear campaign speeches by the four candidates seeking to become the next IPC president: Patrick Jarvis, Andrew Parsons, John Petersson and Haidi Zhang.

Those seeking to be elected to the 10 member at large positions will present their speeches first, with each candidate given the opportunity for a seven-minute presentation. The candidates for vice president and president will follow, each given 15 minutes to detail their ideas for the positions. The order of presentations will be determined by a draw.

Following the presentations, Craven will hold a media briefing regarding the suspension of the Russian Paralympic Committee. This briefing will likely determine Russia’s ability to participate in the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympics under the Russian flag and not as neutral athletes.

The IPC General Assembly begins on Sept. 7 with standard reports about the operations of the IPC, including finances and new business. The Paralympic Sport and Media Awards will take place that evening recognizing achievements from the Rio 2016 Paralympics on and off the field of play.

The main event of the General Assembly occurs on Sep. 8, the final day of the week-long meeting in Abu Dhabi. The next president of the IPC will be elected, followed by the vice president and the ten members at large. The assembly will conclude with a press briefing with outgoing IPC chief Craven and the president-elect.

Written by Kevin Nutley

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